Joshua Powell, husband of missing and presumed deceased Utah woman Susan Powell, deliberately triggered an explosionSunday afternoon killing himself and the couples two young sons Charles and Braden Powell.

A case worker arrived with the children for the court ordered supervised visitation was blocked entry by Powell, and shortly thereafter the home exploded.

Josh’s Father Steven is awaiting trial for various perv charges and all over creepiness, and Josh was just denied custody of the children in favor of them staying with Susan’s parents, The Cox’s.

www.blinkoncrime.com wishes to extend our sincere condolences to The Cox and members of the Powell Family who are not perverted freaks or murderers.

It would seem I recall expressing my concern this was a definite concern early on. I wish to commend all that recognized this and did everything in their power to give these beautiful little cherubs their best chance.

These little guys see their Mother today, and I pray that there is comfort in that reality for those dealing with this loss today.

Related Posts:

724 Comments

“I have a question- is there any sort of CPS Federal watchgroup?
B”
—————–

According to this article by Seattle’s KOMO news (they have a “Problem Solvers” unit) that looks into and attempts to bring attention to huge issues in our state.

Here’s a part of the article-for those who want to get really angry!

Please read the whole thing (it’s long), and it’s a sickening eye opener. This was posted in Nov. 2009, and it has only gotten worse. Some article highlights:
————–

**”During a 2004 gubernatorial debate, Gregoire talked of the need to overhaul the DSHS, which oversees Children’s Administration.”

**”It took more than two years, but the Problem Solvers obtained the death reports of 595 children who had some contact with the state’s Children’s Administration and who died some time between 2002 and mid-2009. We wanted to find how many of those deaths might have been prevented.”

**”Records indicate Washington’s child welfare agency scores poorly in two different national evaluations. A review by U.S. Health and Human Services found 36 states were better than Washington at meeting children’s needs and keeping them safe.”
——

(So what did WA state do? They hired a woman from Wisconsin, the state that scored even lower than WA at keeping children safe!!!)
———-

**”But last spring she(Gregoire) hired Susan Dreyfus, who used to head up Wisconsin’s Division of Children and Families.”

Word Girl – TY for your nice words. In your last paragraph on your post dated on March 22, @2:53 pm in regards to stereotyping case workers and such who supervise visitation between parents and children, I have to say that in my line of work NOT everyone is physically fit either. That would be the ideal situation, and although a physical fitness test is required before one is hired, people who have many years on the job don’t always stay in shape. BUT – protocols are such that no one ever stands alone in the line of duty. For example: We have cameras everywhere. The officers have radios with pins attached and even if the officer can’t radio-in an emergency, he just needs to pull the pin and everyone responds. We have many, many safety factors built in to the system for the safety of the officer as well as the inmate whose safety we have to ensure too. That is just a small example, but a very obvious one that from where I stand – I don’t see in the example of a CPS worker who is responsible for the likes of children on a visit with a high-risk parent. Where were the safety protocols on the visit with JP that fateful day? The children ran out of the car as soon as the case worker pulled up to the house. In the best case scenario, protocol should have been that she keep them locked in the car until she could either open the door for them and then they walk up to the house together, OR she keep them in the car until she could investigate to make sure things seemed safe for a visit. While hind-sight is 20/20, I would say at the very least, this should be protocol for every home-based visit. Why? Because, if she had been with the kids when JP opened the door, she may have smelled the gas and knew immediately that things weren’t right. She could have scooted them away from the house and gone back to the car with the kids until she received proper back-up. If she had a radio with a pin, connected to someone on staff that day, the alarm would have been put out and the case worker would not have had to argue with an inexperienced 911 operator. Is it right that ONE lone case-worker report to these visits with the responsibility of 2 children entrusted in her care? Where’s her back up? She’s left on her own – through no fault of her own. The State did NOT have her back and the State did not have the kids back. While JP has rights as recognized by the State, the State supported him in his right to see his children and that was the only concern as far as I can see. If the State recognizes that not everyone can be trusted to be ‘nice’ during a visitation, then the State can still honor the visit, but at a facility where safety would be the first priority.

Christy brings up a good point of not allowing visitation at all for a parent who is seen as a suspect in the murder of his wife. Of course, that’s how it should be, but the State had ‘law suit’ on its mind when it came down to allowing visitation to JP who hadn’t even been developed as a ‘person of interest’ yet in Susan’s disappearance. At least this is what the State is proclaiming and that is why he was granted visitation. In fact didn’t the State deny knowledge of Susan Powell’s disappearance at the hands of her husband – the father of the boys? (One hand not knowing what the other hand is doing.)

It is my belief that certain safety standards need to be re-visited and put into policy. Protocols that every case-worker needs to follow no matter the educational background or how-ever many degrees one possesses. The education comes into play in recognizing a high-risk parent, but without back-up from the system, then what good is anything if safety standards for all fall on deaf ears? Safety for all concerned – the parents, the children and the field workers.

Blink,
no, no Fed watchdog.
Fed carrots in form of Fed money to ensure
State regs have some minimal standards
which are up to State to enforce.
Fed grants are use to prod certain policies like permanency planning,
adoption preferences, etc

marriage, family, divorce, children will never be Federal but State regulated

And now the truth comes out…. Why in the world was this not enough to arrest Josh Powell right away?

How much more could an LE agency eff up a case?

Susan’s blood on the floor by the sofa?

I also don’t remember JP ever stating he had just cleaned the “sofa” at Susan’s request. What happened to the juice/koolaid on the floor alibi?

———————

“Susan Cox Powell’s blood was found on the floor near a sofa in the couple’s house in Utah, according to a search warrant unsealed on Friday.”

“When police first entered the home after the woman was reported missing, two fans were setup to blow air on the sofa. The woman’s husband, Josh Powell, told investigators that he had just cleaned the sofa at Susan’s request.”

“The document also revealed Susan Cox Powell, in a letter she had placed in a safe deposit box, stated Josh had threatened to destroy her if they got divorced. She wrote that if she were to die, it may not be an accident, even if it looks like one, the document said.”

****”Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said Friday that had the Susan Powell case happened in his jurisdiction, he would’ve charged Josh Powell with her murder.”****

There was blood evidence- the sofa was cleaned- was luminol or bluestar testing done?

he wanted to clean out her 401k 7 days after she “left” him? and there were life insurance policies on Susan…

I realize real-life is not like tv…but come on – lots of juries can convict without a body and I do believe there was alot pointing towards Josh killing his wife and disposing of her body

Susan described her fatherinlaw as a pedo- and he pasted photos her head onto photos of other naked ladies?

What in the heck was going on with these men? and with so much circumstantial- and disturbing evidence and information…why werent the boys protected better?

Blink you remember a long time ago when you first covered this case? you asked me how a persons hands would get so chapped? I answered with the freezing temps pouring hot water on them would cause chapping? well so would warm blood or any fluid etc…… as in a person who dismembered a body in freezing temperatures would be handling “wet” parts…

I think this is what happened- and those poor little boys were along for the ride…

No way this guy would have left his wife home alone and taken her cell phone with him- no way he controlled her- without the cell her wouldnt be able to keep tabs on her at all times…

The cell was with Susan and if the cell was in the van then so was Susan.

With all this information why didnt they just charge him?

My prayers for Susan and her little angel boys

AJMO
Peace

Mom 3.0-

I agree there are some serious questions that need answering.

However, as I know you are painfully aware, there is no denying the CSI effect has far reaching consequences outside of the Anthony case.

Also, the blood stained comforter in JP’s storage unit would hold more interest now, I would imagine.

I agree Mom3.0, that sofa and it’s interior stuffing could hold lots of evidence.

Blink, I also remember reading that the purse and cell phone were in the house. Interesting that the search warrant states the cell was found in JP’s car, and he didn’t have an explanation for that?
____________________

“An investigation of Powell’s vehicle found a generator, blankets, a gas can, tarps and a shovel. Susan Powell’s cell phone was found in the center console of the car in the off position.”

“Susan’s purse, which contained all her credit cards, cash, identification and keys, was found undisturbed in the homes master bedroom.”

So I guess just the purse and it’s contents were in the house, namely, the master bedroom.

agreed.

Again, I am so sad for what this woman, her children, and her parents endured- wait- I must add her sister in law Jennifer Graves. She put a letter to have her untimely death investigated 18 months before she disappeared. Makes me ill.

Ominous signs of trouble were quickly seen in Powell case
Release of a search warrant provides new details in the disappearance of Susan Powell.

On Dec. 7, 2009, less than 24 hours after his wife, Susan, disappeared, Josh Powell lied over and over.

He lied to police in Utah. He lied to his sister. He lied to his wife’s friend.

The next day, he lied to police again, appearing to hand over potential evidence even as he concealed it.

A week later, he canceled his wife’s chiropractic appointments and withdrew all the money from her IRA accounts.

Investigators who searched Josh’s home and car that day found traces of blood in the Powell home — Susan’s blood.

The blood traces were a few feet from a just-cleaned sofa, drying out in the breeze of two fans.

They found a letter from Susan, hidden from Josh, kept in a safe-deposit box. She labeled it her last will and testament and warned that if she died suddenly, it might not be an accident.

Susan was reported missing on Dec. 7, a Monday. The last time anyone had seen her was a day earlier; a family friend, Jovanna Owings, had been visiting. Susan had gone to bed around 5 p.m., tired after eating a meal prepared by Josh, records state. Reportedly, Josh intended to take their two boys sledding that evening.

Susan didn’t come to work Monday. Neither did Josh. Owings called Josh’s mobile phone at 3:03 p.m. Josh reportedly said he was driving around the city with the boys and didn’t know his wife hadn’t shown up for work.

After that call, Josh drove 20 miles out of town, the affidavit states, citing data from cellular towers. He called his own voice-mail number at 3:34 p.m. He called Susan’s voice-mail a moment later and left a message: He said he and the boys had just come back from a camping trip. He asked Susan if she needed a ride home from work.

Police suspect that when he called Susan’s phone, it was sitting in his car in the center-front console. Investigators found it there a few hours later, records state. The sim card — the cyber-guts of the phone that contained contacts and personal information — was gone.

At 5:27 p.m., two hours after Josh called Susan’s voice-mail, his sister, Jennifer Graves, called and asked where he’d been. Josh said he was at work.

Jennifer said she knew he was lying. Josh then said he was camping. Jennifer told him to come home; the police were there and Susan was missing.

Josh asked Jennifer how much she knew. Jennifer didn’t understand the question. Josh hung up. Police called him 20 minutes later, at 5:48, using Jennifer’s phone.

They told him to come home. Josh said he had to get his boys something to eat. He was home by 6:40 p.m.

As he pulled into the driveway, a detective walked up to the car and asked Josh why he hadn’t answered his phone earlier or called anyone.

Josh said he had to leave the phone off to save battery power. He said he didn’t have a charger.

The detective saw the phone sitting on the center console, plugged into a charger, records state.

Interviewed by police later that day, Powell said he’d been camping with his sons in the west desert. He said he and the boys left at 12:30 a.m.

He said he thought it was Sunday, not Monday — that was why he missed work. He said he’d been afraid to call his boss, for fear of being fired. He said he didn’t know where Susan was.

Investigators searched his car. They found a generator, blankets, a gas can, tarps and a shovel. They also found Susan’s phone. Josh couldn’t explain why it was there.

Two fans were blowing in the living room, aimed at the couch. Josh said Susan told him to clean it. Her purse was in the house. Her money, credit cards, ID and keys were inside

Shortly after Susan Powell disappeared, authorities found blood evidence on a floor next to a sofa and determined that it was Susan Powell’s. They found several life insurance policies on Susan Powell that totaled $1.5 million. The documents describe Josh Powell as unwilling to help in the investigation.

Such a tragedy. I imagine LE was sick about every piece of incriminating information. They had the fans, the blood from the tile, the SIM cards missing, plus all the other wierdness, yet Josh Powell got away with Murder.

It’s been my understanding that when blood is found @ scene of crime relating to the missing person, the poor soul is likely deceased/murdered.

Maybe I’m out of line on this one, but ‘volume’ was not significant enough? Realllyyyyy????? Two fans to dry the carpet…doesn’t take a rocket scientist to KNOW who murdered Susan. What went wrong here? Neon signs, writing on the wall…..come. on. I can’t believe a jury would find Josh not guilty with the evidence; blood found in home, fans drying carpet, a midnight polar camp with their babes…AND their missing mother, who did go with them, but didn’t come back. Then again, I’m just a simple minded citizen. It could be an ordinary existence for most families.

I embrace 2 things in my faith…you either walk with the Lord or you’re entertaining the darkness, consciously or unaware. JP is text book h e double hockey sticks material.

I will never understand why Susan did not go to the police. If there was a paper trial, documentation, records of her fears wrt to Josh…..maybe Josh would have landed in jail long before an entire family was wiped off the face of the earth.

It is done; sealed. It’s in the Lord’s hands, the only comfort I find in this case.

Ragdoll, In it’s totality, one expects to find “How to murder your wife for insurance cash”- written by Josh Powell under the driver seat in the van the man is such a dolt. I know.

That said, a persons blood (and it does not say if it was field tested following luminol ( and did I miss something about Jennifer Graves and moving a couch and a carpet stain not in these docs or am I blurring a case) in itself, unless their is a origin or volume amount to render the presumption of death ( meaning whatever is found indicates a loss of life) is not enough to arrest someone for murder.

In her own home, the reality is, a miniscule amount of blood invisible the naked eye or just a “dot” is likely found in all of our homes. Not sure if you recall, but 2 years ago last month I fell in my driveway on my chin and received a serious concussion. I was speaking to a neighbor of mine who is a retired forensics professional about another case and as a lesson if you will, he asked me to show him where I fell, and my then my path/patterns into the house.

He found a speck of my blood and a partial palm print of mine on the deck rail of my back patio.
Fact is, I do not even remember walking back there, but he asked me my routine, and if I remembered if I knew I was bleeding and through that exercise he realized it was dark, and it was not likely I would walk in the house without checking if I was bleeding or without taking off my running shoes. My deck has motion lights, and it made sense even if they did not to check myself out under the moonlight before I would track blood into the house, lol.

As an aside, I thought I was pretty good at the CSI thing, and definitely observant. I learned in 10 minutes that forensics folks see a back story to what we are saying as if they were there, and know immediately what to look for even though you and I cannot see any of it.

It is clear to me Susan was afraid Josh was going to end her life long before he actually did, and like you, I remain baffled as to why she stayed in that situation as long as she did except for one thing, fear for her children.

Hiya Ragdoll good to see you pot and about on other threads- thanks for the encouragement my ever faithful BOC bud-

Zeus- I had forgotten about the comforter- thank you for bringing it up-

Riverpearl- thanks for bringing that info to our attention

I found this info to be very strange- and telling-

” Owings called Josh’s mobile phone at 3:03 p.m. Josh reportedly said he was driving around the city with the boys and didn’t know his wife hadn’t shown up for work.

After that call, Josh drove 20 miles out of town, the affidavit states, citing data from cellular towers. He called his own voice-mail number at 3:34 p.m. He called Susan’s voice-mail a moment later and left a message: He said he and the boys had just come back from a camping trip. He asked Susan if she needed a ride home from work.

Police suspect that when he called Susan’s phone, it was sitting in his car in the center-front console. Investigators found it there a few hours later, records state. The sim card — the cyber-guts of the phone that contained contacts and personal information — was gone.”

Why would Josh call his wifes cell if he had it? why would its sim card be missing if he had left a message for her…

The cell is weird what was he thinking he obviously did more than lie he seemed to be actively covering up yet at the same time so much was left in plain view-

Where is the Sims card where is Susan??? Why keep the phone at all?
IDK
AJMO

“But due to the suspicious nature … murder and kidnapping have not been excluded.”

Big shock-right?
—————————–

“West Valley City police on Friday refused to expand on any details revealed in the search warrant because the investigation is still ongoing, said Sgt. Mike Powell, who is not related to the Powell family.

“This case began as a missing person case and remains as such,” he said. “But due to the suspicious nature … murder and kidnapping have not been excluded.”

Again, I am so sad for what this woman, her children, and her parents endured- wait- I must add her sister in law Jennifer Graves. She put a letter to have her untimely death investigated 18 months before she disappeared. Makes me ill.

Fox cable news has been carrying a story all day about the lack of good police work in this case.

If Susan was concerned 18 months prior to her disappearance, she should have notified her parents as well as her sister and anyone else she could think of regarding her fears.

Then, there is the possibility that she was ashamed of having people know about the poor and dangerous relationship. The public needs to learn to be aware of subtle statements made by women who find themselves in similar situations so they can be prepared to help.

LE have their hands tied until something happens to make the situation an assault or other crime.

It gets worse I am afraid. Publishing new piece.
Totally agree, she was afraid, and she was embarrassed, but more than that- Josh was a narcissist who showed such an emerging pattern for years. He just lied about it and counted on a sealed record.

My heart hurts in this case for the brutality of it’s lessons. There are plenty of them to go around.
B

Unfortunately, the American public, with our propensity for allowing our natural free will, does not make changes until something such as this bfamily crime brings it crashing into our consciousness.

Oh my GOD! Did he hide this during the time of their dating so she or her family were not aware of a potential for evil behavior? I am sorry, I do not believe that an illness affecting behavior should be kept a secret by any doctor or public agency. These people, when found and diagnosed, should be prevented from mingling with normal society.

[...] Susan Cox Powell knew her husband Josh, father of her toddler sons Charlie and Braden might kill her one day. Eighteen months prior to her disappearance Susan opened a safety deposit box and in an almost [...]